Transmission mechanism



I. ROTH.

TRANSMISSION MECHANISNI.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 2, 19m.

IN VEN TOR JOHN ROTH. BY @ZM M A TTORNE Y.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I UAA Patented Sept lll J. ROTH.

TRANSMISSION IVIECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2, 192I.

Patented Sept. 5, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR JOHN P0771'.

BY i( `Z A TTORNE Y Patented Sept. 5, 1922.

'narran stares l ilaaazsl garant erica.- y

f JOHN4 ROTH, or nIoHMoNlicALiroRNrA.

TRANSMISSION M13CI-IAIITISlll.y

Application flied `November 2, .`19`2l. serial No. lmassi.1

To all whom t may. concern:

Be it knownthat l, JOHN-ROTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond,

in the county of Contra Costa and State of California, have invented new andy useful improvements in Transmission lllechanlsm,

ofwhich thev following is a specification.

This invention relates to power transmission, and particularly pertains `to a variable.

speed transmissionfor motor vehicles.

lt is the principal object of. thel Vpresent.

invention to provide a variablespeedinotor velilcle transmission whichis so constructed as to insure that high and low vgear' ratlos may be obtained by adirect driving actionv from the engine shafty tothe differential mechanism of the rear axle, saidinvention further embodying means wherebyv other speeds and a reverse driving action willbe quickly obtained a simple shifting mechanism.

' The present invention contemplates they use of .a lpair of alternately operating clutches which maybe brought to separately engage the flywheel orother driving member of the engine, said clutches'separately driving shafts carrying gears which mesh withother gears of different diameters; the shaftsbeing also fittedwith vari-v able speed gears which inay be shifted to obtain a desired driving ratio between the. engine and the rear axle. p

The invention is illustrated by way of eirample in the accompanying drawings, inv

which- Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view iilhorizontal section and elevation,.showing the vital parts of the presentinvention. l Fig. 2 is a view in section throughthe clutch and flywheel mechanism, ,as seen on the line 2-2 kof Fig. .1. i i. Fig. 3 is a view in Vtransverse section through the transmission box, as seen onthe Referring more particularly to the drawf` ings, 10 indicates a universall joint structure suitably connected with the driving shaft of a motor vehicle. This joint indirectly connects with a :propellerv shaft= 11 which extends longitudinally of the whale and is fitted at its'frearfend lwith adrivingpin- 1,011,112. The pinion l2-is in .meshwith a mastergear 13, suitably secured to a differen tialv mechanism 14 on a rearaxle structure 15. f

Formed integral with the lmaster gear 13 and yarranged .concepnt ric therewithy is a larger master gearlwhich is'in mesh withl adriving pinioiifl.l This pinionisffixed. tothe rear-end of a propeller sleeve'18,

through whicll'the propeller shaft .11 telescopes.v

,The shaft 1 1 visfreely mounted yat its` forwardfend withinfa bearing carried by 'the engine flywheel 19. This flywheel `is di'- rectly connected tov the universal joint 10, i. i

and indirectly connects with the 'shaft 11.

through afclutch unit 2O which may be brought to engagev the flywheel andv lock itr in driving relation to `aspider"21. This spider iskeyed to the propeller shaft 11.

Referring` more Aparticularly to Fig. 12 f of the drawings, it will be seenfthat the vspider is formed with afplurality'of radial arms'22 which are ,slotted longitudinally to receive the sliding l.Shanksx 23 of .clutch shoesA 24. The vclutchfshoes are preferably arcilate,' conforming to the inner circumferential face of the flywheel, and have broad faces which frictionally engage'this portion ofthe flywheel.'y ltd' will be understood, however, y l' that the'design of the'clutchfshoes and the formation or contour ofthe engaging faces' of the clutch shoes and the flywheel may be. altered without departing from the spirit' of the present invention.

The shanks 23 ofthe clutch shoes are each formed with bossesto receive pressure links 25. 'Thesel linksare pivoted attheir outery ends to vthese vbosses ande at ltheirinner ends toa collar 26. This collar is rotatably supf. ported upon a shifting sleeve 27 which slidesy longitudinally of ,the propeller shaft 11. The sleeve is formed to accommodatel two collars 26, the other onev of which is fitted with a plurality of pressure links 25 leading to clutch shoes 24ofa clutch unit 28.

The lcliitchlunitl 20 provided to establish the high, gear ratioof the transmission,

while the clutch unit 28 is'sprovided to estab- I,

lish the lowf gear transmission drive. These units may be alternately operated by a shifting collar 29 which'is slidable' alongthe sleevelS and which 'is fitted with a plural'ity lof push rods 30 lextendillg through.

rag

With a link 35 pivotally connected With aV crank 36.

' This crank is secured to a hollow shaft 37 which is disposed about the transverse shaft 37*i and is preferably fitted at its outer end with a sprocket 38 connected by chain to a larger sprocket 39, the latter being actuated by the hand lever 40, the intention being to produce considerable rotation of the sleeve shaft 37 so that the crank 36 may be swung to a position on either side of the center of the shaft 37. As Will be further explained this shaft and its control mechanism controls the high andA low drive of the transmission. It will be seen from Fig. 6 that the crank 36 is constructed to temporarily lockitself in its set positions. The -:Hat sides 41 and 41a engaging .the flat spring 42 at the end of each change of speed or in neutral, such engagement would prevent the crank from changing positions Without the operator shifting the lever 40.

1n order to positively interrupt the driving action of the sleeve 18 through to the gear 17 when low gear is not required, a clutch collar 43 is provided. This collar is splinedkonto the section 18 of the tubular drive shaft18, it being understood that the sections 18 and 18 are in longitudinal alignment and both telescope over the drive shaft 11. Keyed onto the rear end of the tubular shaft section 18 is a reduction gear43a having a clutch hub on its end face, Which hub is adapted to be positively engaged by the adjacent face of theclutch col ar 43. This action will lock the tvvo sections of the tubular driving shaft together and will insurea direct driving action from the clutch unit` 28 to the gear 17. A. yoke lever 44 embracesv the clutch collar 43 and is sescured at its outer end to a shift rod 45, which is in turn connected by a link 45a to crank lever 46 'on the shaft 37 This crank leverY is so disposed 'as to move the clutch collarforwardly and to its engaging position When the transmission lever 4() is swung to produce a lovv drive. The opposite `end of the yoke lever 44 connects With a pair of shifting rodsl 47 and 47il which extend rearwardly to engage the ends 48 and 49 respectively ofthe lever 50. This lever is lcarried by the` control shaft 37 which operates a sliding gear 51, Which gear is splined to a counter-shaft52 enclosed vvith in the gear case 34 and disposed parallel to the main drive shafts 11 and 18. This gear is formedvvith a grooved hubV receiving a shifting fork 53 ,which forkV is carried byv a rod 54. The rod is pivotally secured to a rasage? crank 55011 the control 'shaft 37 a; The double crank arm 50 is so disposed in relation to the cran-k 55 as to cause one of the shifting members 47 to be dravvn in the direction of the arrow a at a certain point in the rotation of the shaft37a. Thus partial rotation of the shaft 37 a in either direction Will act upon the lever yoke 44 to move the clutch collar 43 from engagement with the clutch face of the gear 43, which disengagement is necessary When desiring to operate in either extreme low gear or reverse. The shaft 37a is rotated by means of a pinion 56 engaged by a gear segment 57, which segment is rotated by a second control lever 59.

The counter-shaft 52 is driven from the gear 43 by a gear 61, thus continuously imparting motion to the shifting gear 51 splined thereon. In its forvvard position the shifting gear Will mesh With a reducing gear 62 secured to the section 18 of the tubular drive shaft. In its rear position the shifting gear Will mesh With areversing pinion 63 which is in constant engagement with a reversing gear 64 fixed to the shaft'section 18.

1t Will thus be evident that the present structure Will permit high and low gear drives tok be directly obtained While rallovving an extreme loW and reverse drive to be obtained through a very simple train of gears.

In the operation of the present invention it Willv first be assumed that a high gear drive is desired. Tn this case shaft 37 will be Vrotated in the direction of the arrow o, as shown in Fig. 5.` This Will shift the rod 32 forwardly andvvill move the collar 37 to- Ward the c'lutchunit 21. This vvill simultaneously produce a toggle action on all of the links 25 to force the clutch shoes 24 of the unit 21 outwardly, .thus frictionally engaging the inner surface of the iiy Wheel 19. This will act 'to connect the clutch unit 21 With the fly Wheel 19 and thus directly drive the central propeller shaft 11. Rotation of this shaft vvillbe, of course, accompanied by rotation of thepinion 12, which is in mesh with the small master gear 13.

To shift from high gear to low gear, the hand lever 40 is actuated torock theshaft 37 in a direction reverse to that in which it Was rocked When shifting into high gear. Such actuationof the shaft Will` exert a pull on the rod 32 disengaging the clutch unit 21 and engaging the clutch unit 428 which will connect the flywheel V29 to the tubular propeller shaft 18, the vrespective sections of the latter having been interconnected When the-shaft 37 imparted move ment to the lever 44, throughv the crank 46 and shiftirod 47 which shifted the clutch collar 43 into engagement With .the clutch collar on the gear 43a' secured on the sectionl 18v of the tubular shaft. WhenV the clutch mitted to the tubular propeller 18, by the engagement ofthe clutchv unit 28, is trans mitted to the section 18 of the tubular propeller shaft and to the pinion 17 secured thereon which is in constant mesh with the larger master vgear 16 for driving the latter when the tubular shaft is driven, thus establishing a direct low drive withoutshifting gears.

'As before statedan extreme low gear drive is provided, which, in the present instance, is accomplished by the provision of the countershaft 52 which is constantly driven from the tubular shaft 18, when the latter is in motion, by means of the intermeshing gears 43 and 61 secured on the respective shafts.` `When desiring toy operate in extreme low gear, the hand lever 59 is actuated to rock the control shaft 37am the direction of arrow d, whichgexerts-a pull on the rod 17a connected to the lever 44, and in shifting the same disengages the clutch collar 42, thereby discontinuing the connection between the respective sections of the tubular shaft 18. Simultaneous with the shifting of the lever 44:, the roch shaft 37 vactuates the crank 55, which` imparts axial movement to the rod 54 and shifts the sliding gear 51 V,controlled thereby into engagement with the gear 52 secured on the secondsection 18 of the -tubular shaft. Such engagement of the gears 51 and'52 producing rotation of the second section ofthe tubular. shaft reduced in speed 1n relation to that of the first section. Extreme lowv gear is thus obviously provided.

It being understood that when desiring to operate in either extreme low gear or in reverse, it is necessary to firstk shift into low` gear drive, if not already operating in that gear.

To produce reverse drive, the operation is similar to that of shifting into the extreme low gear excepting the hand lever 59 is actuated to rotate the crank 55 in the direction of the arrow -c-, which will cause the sliding gear 51 to mesh with the reverse gear 63 which is in mesh. with the gear 64: on the tubular shaft. rilhe engagement of the sliding gear 51 with the reverse gear 68 will cause the section of the tubular shaft to rotate in adirection reverse to that of the rotation of the first'section.

To allow the engine to idle the hand lever is returned to neutral position, likewise, the hand lever 40 is `returned to neutral, thus returning the various engaging elements to their neutral positions and allowing the flywheel 19 on the engine shaft to rotate freely.

It is obvious from the foregoing that a mechanism has been provided that is not only comparatively simple in nature, but contains several distinct advantages over the present art and should be considered an advance thereover.

In the foregoing `description and on the drawings various parts and combinations thereof have been described and shownmore or less in specific detail for illustrating purposes only, and. it is therefore understood that various changes in construction and arrangement of. parts may be. made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed'.

Having thus described my inventiomwhat l claim is:

1. In a transmission mechanism, a drive shaft, arear axle unit having a differential with a pair of master gears of different di-- ameters, a first and a `second propeller shaft each having a pinion in constant'mesh with a different master gear, clutch means'for connecting either of said propeller shafts to said drive shaft whereby two different direct driving connections maybe established be'- tween the drive shaft and theyrear axle, said second propeller shaft beingfformed in two sections, and means whereby the speed of one of said sections may be reduced in relation to the tion.

2. In a transmission mechanism, a drive shaft, an axle unit .having a differential withy a` pair of master gears of different diameters, a first `and a ,second propeller shaft each having a'pinion 1n constant mesh with a different master gear, clutch means' for connecting either of said propeller shafts with said drive shaft, said second propeller shaft being formed in two sections, and con-v trolled means `whereby oney of saidsections may be driven by the other section at a reduced speed or in a reverse'direction.

3. A. transmission mechanism comprising a drive shaft, a driven shaft, a pair of bevel gears of different diameters-fixed on said driven shaft, a first and a second propeller shaft interposed between said drive and said driven shafts, and each having a bevel speed of the other sec-v pinion in constant mesh withI a different V bevel gear on the driveny shaft, clutch means for directly connecting either of said propeller shafts w-iththe drive shaft, said second propeller shaft being formed in two sections, means whereby a direct drive may be established between the drive and driven shaft through both of said sections, and

`controlled means whereby one of said sections may be driven by the other at a reduce speed or in a reverse direction.

4. A transmission mechanism, a drive shaft, a driven shaft, a pair of gears of diff ferent diameters fixed on the driven shaft, a first propeller shaft, a second propeller shaft formed in two sections turnably mounted on the first propeller shaft, each of said propeller shafts having a pinion in constant mesh with a different gear on the driven shaft, clutch means for establishing a direct driving connection between the drive i and driven shafts through either of said propeller shafts, and clutch and gear means whereby one of the sections of the second propeller shaft may be driven by the other at a reduced speed, or in a reverse direction.

5. ln combination With the drive shaft and the rear axle unit of a motor vehicle, of a pair of concentric bevel gears of different diameters operatively connected to said rear axle unit, a first propeller shaft, a second propeller shaft turnably mounted on the first propeller shaft, the second propeller shaft being formed in a first and a second section, each of said propeller shafts having a bevel pinion in mesh with a different one of said bevel gears, clutch means for establishing a direct driving connection between said drive shaft and rear axle through either of said propeller shafts, afclutch interposed between the sections of the second propeller shaft, a counter shaft, and gear mounted on the said propeller shaft sections and the counter shaft, and operable means connected to said clutch and one of said gears on the countershaft whereby said clutch may be actuated and said gear shifted to cause the first section of the propeller shaft to drive the second section at a reduced speed or in a reverse direction, or to permit a direct drive through both sections.

6. In a transmission mechanism, a drive shaft, a rear axle unit having a differential With a pair of master gears of different diameters, a first and a second propeller shaft each having a pinion in constant mesh with a dierent'master gear in the differential,

a double clutch unit adapted toy establish a direct driving connection between the drive shaft and either of the propeller shafts, the second propeller shaft beingl'formed of a rst and a second section, means for transmitting a direct drive through both sections, and other means actuated by the first section for indirectly transmitting either a reduced speed to the second section, or rotation of the second section which is the reverse of that of the first section.

7. ln a transmission mechanism, a drive shaft, a rear axle unit having` adifi'erential with a pair of master gears of different di` ameters, a first and a second propeller shaft each having a pinion in constant mesh With a different master gear in the differential, a double clutch unit yadapted to establish a direct `driving connection between they drive shaft and either ofthe propeller shafts, the second propeller shaft being formed of a first and a second section, a counter-shaft geared to the first-section of the propeller shaft, a slidable gear on the countershaft, a gear on the second section of the propeller shaft adapted to transmit reduced rotation thereto when engaged by the slidable gear, a reversing gear also on the second section, and means for simultaneously disengaging the first and second sections of the propeller shaft and shifting the slidable gear into mesh with either the speed reducing gear or the reversing gear on the propeller shaft.

JOHN ROTH 

